For all the efforts to emphasize the importance of mental health in overall well-being, Allison Hanes writes, there is a cruel irony in the fact that the demands of Quebec's health system itself are taking such a terrible toll on nurses.David Goldman / The Associated Press

Anyone who has spent time in a hospital has benefited from the care of a nurse.

They are the ones who greet you in triage when you arrive at the emergency room, the ones who offer comfort during labour pains, the ones who monitor your vital signs after surgery, the ones who administer the medications that fight infection, the ones who answer your call when you need help in the middle of the night.

Nurses usually don’t get much glory or credit. Yet their often thankless work is the backbone of our health system.

In the last few weeks, however, nurses have been sounding the alarm about the strain on their own health as a result of cost-saving measures and bureaucratic reforms. From mandatory overtime to what they say are unmanageable patient ratios, the pillars of Quebec’s public health system say they are now crumbling under the weight of the extraordinary demands being placed on them.

This past weekend nurses offered testimonials about what they are up against at a kitchen party hosted by Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir. “Kim” described neglecting interactions with patients in order to fulfill all her duties in time, according to news coverage of the event, while “Sarah” told of the psychological distress of having to keep up the frenetic pace on an obligatory double shift. Another, who declined to giver her name, said she was on her fourth stress leave, while Nathalie Stake-Doucet said the workload was so unbearable she finally quit.

The reluctance to give their names speaks to the climate of fear, futility and powerlessness that has caused nurses to suffer in silence for too long. But it was one nurse’s courage in breaking this silence that finally drew attention to their plight.

After a particularly gruelling night shift, Émilie Ricard took to Facebook in late January and posted a tearful video of herself questioning Health Minister Gaétan Barrette’s claim that his reform of Quebec’s health system has been a success.

The young Sherbrooke woman described being the only nurse serving 70 patients. She spoke of being so busy monitoring an unstable patient that she didn’t have time to help the orderly change diapers, leaving many of their charges soiled for hours since the previous shift had been equally short-staffed.

“I wouldn’t want to see one of my own family members left in conditions like that. It’s disgusting,” she wrote. “I am broken by my profession; I am ashamed of the pitiful care I am providing despite my best efforts. My health system is broken and dying.”

Since Ricard’s raw and emotional post went viral, the response has been overwhelming. The nursing unions have taken up the charge. The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), representing 5,000 nurses, is handing out broken heart badges to wear in a show of solidarity. Nurses in Trois-Rivières, Sorel and Laval have held sit-ins to denounce their arduous work conditions.

Quebec’s combative health minister deflected the blame back on nurses. Barrette says nurses unwilling to fill vacant full-time positions for fear of being forced to work overtime are creating a vicious circle where other nurses are forced to work mandatory overtime. Negotiations have begun with the government to find some sort of solution.

But as Olivier Bonneville, a nurse in hematology-oncology at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Ste-Justine and a vice-president of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN), wrote in an open letter: addressing the anguish of nurses must also deal with the mounting workloads of orderlies, administrators and social workers.

Nurses are only one cog in the greater machinery of Quebec’s complex public health network, which is undeniably daunting and difficult to manage in a time of soaring demand and scarce resources. But their burnout and distress bodes ill indeed for the health of the system as a whole.

That this problem has been left to fester for so long is a symptom of the lack of importance we put on caregiving as a society. From nurses to daycare workers, the indispensable work of those who care for children and the elderly — our most vulnerable — is often undervalued and underpaid, their contributions under-appreciated.

For all the efforts to emphasize the importance of mental health in overall well-being, there is a cruel irony in the fact that the demands of Quebec’s health system itself are taking such a terrible toll on nurses. When health workers feel intimidated, pressured, desperate, exhausted and frustrated just showing up to work, something is very wrong.

When nurses suffer, patients suffer. If we want a health system that delivers quality service for the billions of dollars we invest into it, that helps people to heal, that works effectively, that is trusted by the public, that attracts the best and brightest to toil in it, we have to take care of the caregivers. We have to make sure that all of those entrusted with the health of others — from doctors to orderlies, from specialists to medical secretaries — don’t have to sacrifice their own in the process.

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